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All the invisible "eyes" are now focused on the last person - Ji Dongzang.
"I." Her consciousness wavered through space, without any high emotions, calmly rejecting them. "Continue the winter storage, refuse to decompose."
The treasure keepers suddenly made a buzzing sound, as if they were talking.
Then, the nature of the peaceful and majestic power that enveloped them quietly changed, from guidance to confinement, from invitation to escort.
"Objection recorded. The individual, continuing hibernation, refuses to fulfill the final obligations of a civilizational specimen, and is suspected of endangering the stability of the iterative process. Transferred to the Universal Court for final judgment."
Ji Dongzang felt that his consciousness was being wrapped and pulled by an irresistible force, breaking away from the space of consciousness used for "negotiation" and falling into a passage.
There was no light, no sound, only countless flowing runes representing the basic laws of the universe rapidly passing by her "eyes".
The so-called "Universe Court" is not a hall with a high and mighty judge and jury.
This is more like a data center.
Dong Zang's existence was disassembled - her physiological composition, her consciousness fluctuations, her energy level, the disturbance value caused by her "uncooperative" behavior to the iterative model... everything was quantified and analyzed.
She "heard" the invisible "accuser" stating her "crimes": refusing to cooperate, becoming an unstable variable, a potential source of pollution, and wasting iterative resources...
She had no defense.
Because she knows that any defense based on "emotion," "meaning," or "rights" is invalid here.
She just "stood" quietly as a silent protest.
The calculations lasted an unknown amount of time, but eventually, a "judgment" that integrated all parameters and eliminated all emotional interference emerged naturally in the universe:
"The individual has continued hibernation and is neither worth forcibly decomposing nor retaining. Permanent exile is being administered. Execution method: All ties to the current civilization sequence are severed, coordinates are locked in an uncivilized wasteland, and information exchange with any registered civilization is prohibited. The sentence is to be executed immediately."
exile.
It was not the path she chose, but the only way out imposed on her by the rules of the universe after she rejected all other options.
She was not given the right to choose exile, she was simply "forced" to be exiled.
This just confirmed her understanding - she never had real choice here.
At the moment the judgment was made, she felt a huge amount of energy slowly disappearing from her body.
This is... the signal for the sacrifice to begin.
Through some weak connection from her “sample” identity that had not yet been completely severed, she “saw”—
Zhou You's figure burst out with extremely brilliant light at the singularity where the second Theia descended, and then instantly turned pale. Her "aesthetics of extinction" and all the moments of death she recorded, along with her spiritual essence, crashed into the depths of the earth's core.
Gao Jie's old and relieved face melted in the energy, and her consciousness was like the softest raindrops, sprinkling on the wild land. With the final blessing for the White Tiger "mountain", she merged into the mountains and rivers, fulfilling her promise as the "cornerstone".
Sui Chunsheng's ecstasy and tears faded away when she learned that her sister was safe. Her spirit, with a carefree lightness, intertwined with Zhou You's paranoid, noble and deep spirit, and together they nourished the new world.
Xia Changjie and all her mechanical creations were decomposed and stored in a process similar to digitization. At the end of her consciousness, Pang Dahai's last image seemed to blink his glass eyes at her, and then they all turned into streams of light, were pulled out of the material universe, and headed for the so-called "logistics maintenance sequence."
In their own ways, they have become the nourishment of the new era or have gone to unknown areas.
Their sacrifice was grand, tragic, and "useful".
And Ji Dongzang just "watched" quietly.
There is no ripple in my heart, no sympathy, and no envy.
They chose the destination they thought was worthwhile, and she simply refused to be part of this grand narrative.
The power of exile began to take effect, throwing her into the endless void. Before the last trace of connection with the solar system was cut off, she "turned back" and cast a last glance.
The Earth, once our blue home, is now covered in wild greens and gray-browns.
The giant beast moved among the mountains, and the orcs acted in groups with their trusted companions.
Everything about human civilization was completely wiped out. There was a brand new world there, one that had nothing to do with her.
Ji Dongzang’s “gaze” was cold and distant, as if he was looking at a strange planet.
Then, the connection was completely severed, and she was swallowed by endless darkness and silence.
At the same time, in another dimensional level.
Qiu Lian felt like he was spinning and falling at high speed in a bizarre tunnel full of tearing sensations.
The discomfort didn't come from the body, but rather from the distortion and oppression of the soul. After an unknown amount of time, this disgusting movement suddenly stopped.
She "fell" into a place.
This is the graveyard of civilization.
What I saw before me was not the corpses everywhere as I had imagined, but a more bizarre scene.
The "remnants" of countless civilizations exist in all sorts of incredible forms: fragments of shattered planets suspended in the void, with strange architectural spires still remnants on them;
The huge, diverse wreckage of spacecraft collides with each other, silently telling of the glory of the past;
Some ghost-like energy bodies were wandering around, making incomprehensible whimpers and mutterings;
There are even some fragments of rules floating around like broken mirrors, occasionally reflecting fragments of light and shadow from a dead world.
There is no order, no ruler, only complete chaos, decay and end.
It is the cosmic garbage dump, the final destination of failed civilizations.
The air was filled with an atmosphere of despair and madness, enough to make anyone with a weak mind collapse in an instant.
But Qiu Lian's face showed an expression that was a mixture of nervousness, vigilance, and a hint of... excitement.
She succeeded.
She deceived the keeper of the cemetery and came to this lawless place, a cemetery where there might be another kind of "life" hidden in the despair.
She quickly concealed her own breath and began to search for her unknown "future" in the ruins of this civilization.
…
And in a desolate area at the edge of the universe.
A lonely, lifeless rocky planet welcomed its first "visitor" in billions of years.
There was a flash of light, and Ji Dongzang's physical body was forcibly reshaped, falling heavily onto the cold, hard rock surface.
The gravity-defying air was so thin that it was almost a vacuum. Above her head was a strange and dense star map, and she didn't recognize any of the stars.
She slowly stood up and brushed off the non-existent dust.
Looking around, there is only endless desolation.
Rugged rocks, dry riverbeds, and in the distance, eternally silent, strangely colored mountains.
No water, no food, no sound, no fellow human beings.
Eternal exile has begun.
She felt the cold, dead silence emanating from the desolate planet beneath her feet, and looked up at the unfamiliar and vast galaxy. Her face showed no expression of despair or fear, only calmness.
Exile is the sentence given to her by the universe.
But how she faces this exile is her own business.
She didn't care if there was a future here.
Her very existence here is the most complete negation of all those who try to arrange her fate.
In this eternal silence, a faint but clear wave penetrated the dimensional barrier and reached her blocked perception.
It's the earth.
It is the final echo of the successive generations of civilization.
She indifferently "turned" her consciousness in that direction.
All evidence of the existence of human civilization is being systematically covered by some higher-level rules.
The earth, the stage where human beings were born, reproduced, fought, prospered, and fell, is being cleansed up completely.
The Earth and human civilization lost.
It was not a loss to the impacting Theia, nor a loss to the mutated monster, but a loss to this set of cold and unquestionable rules of the universe.
They don't even bother to confront human civilization head-on, but just wipe it out like a programmed regular cleanup.
A complete defeat.
Completely and without suspense. Not even a trace of struggle was allowed to remain.
(End of full text)
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